COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS — A study shows that a new immunotherapy for dogs diagnosed with advanced-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) could improve their survival time and quality of life.

The study, published recently in Scientific Reports and undertaken by Texas A&M University's (TAMU) veterinary college and the University of Texas MD Anderson Children's Cancer Hospital in Houston, utilizes a T-cell therapy developed at MD Anderson Children's Cancer Hospital. Using the therapy, veterinarians at Texas A&M saw a nearly four-fold improvement in tumor-free survival compared to dogs that received only chemotherapy, according to TAMU officials. The median tumor-free survival for the Texas-based dogs increased by close to nine months, which is roughly equivalent to seven years in a human life span, the university adds.

Standard chemotherapy can also achieve remission in dogs with NHL, but it rarely cures the condition and the two-year survival rate is less than 20 percent.

To accomplish the T-cell therapy, researchers took a sample of blood from each dog entering the study. Then the T cells were separated and expanded in the laboratory over several weeks. As the T cells grew at MD Anderson, the dogs received chemotherapy at Texas A&M. The regimen included a combination of cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin and prednisone. The T cells were then given back intravenously after the chemotherapy to improve the anti-tumor effects. Investigators discovered that they could use the body's own immune cells, such as T cells, to fight cancer. As a result, MD Anderson and Texas A&M collaborators are creating a program focusing on harvesting and expanding T cells on a large scale for broad clinical use.